A man accused of murdering his neighbours at a nudist resort following a decade-long feud snapped over a hot dog, a court has heard.
You might be thinking that ‘hot dog’ is a euphimism given this all went down at a nudist resort, but nope, a literal hot dog was the final staw that sent Michael Royce Sparks, 62, over the edge.
Sparks is said to have bludgeoned Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife Stephanie, 73, to death at Olive Dell Ranch in Southern California.
Five days after the couple were reported missing by worried friends, their bodies were discovered in bags in a concrete bunker underneath Sparks’ home.
A neighbour told local media that Sparks hated the Menards and that they had been arguing for 10 years over a tree between their properties.
Redlands police detective Thomas Williams told the court that Sparks finally saw red after feeling humiliated when Daniel Menard offered him a hot dog.
‘He said Mr. Sparks felt that the hot dog was a jab at him, making him feel like he was worth only a dollar hot dog, and that’s what set him off that day.’
I’m not sure how he could have interpreted his neighbour’s offer of a hot dog as a jab at him, but I guess we’re dealing with a deranged lunatic here. If they had argued over a hot dog, or he’d had one thrown at him, maybe I could understand murdering this couple in cold blood. But nope, he literally just wanted to give him one.
The court also heard how Sparks sent a text message to a friend, saying: ‘Chopped up my neighbors. Didn’t know I had it in me. SNAPPED.’
Always nice when a defendant admits in a text message to chopping up his victims.
Sparks used a rake, a hoe and a hammer to kill his neighbours before dragging their bodies down to his concrete bunker. There, he is said to have mutilated Mr Menard’s body and dismembered Mrs Menard.
He also admitted drowning the couple’s Shih Tzu, Cuddles, in a sink and throwing away her body, which is a detail I’m sorry you have to read.
Neighbour Tammie Wilkerson told KTTV-TV:
[Sparks] didn’t like the Menards.
‘He said it many times that he hated them, but I never thought he’d do something like this.’
With all the insanity involved in this story, I almost forgot that it all went down at a nudist resort. Indeed, Olive Dell Ranch is a family-friendly and couples-friendly nudist resort in Colton, California, that is an ‘ideal spot to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle whether visiting for the day or an overnight stay,’ Well, apart from the one crazy guy who will chop you into pieces and bury you in his bunker for offering him a weiner hot dog.
At least we didn’t stick their nude photos in the article, eh?
For the naked cleaner who earns £50 an hour from the ‘creeps’ who hire her, click HERE.
